interview

Otis College of Art and Design‘s new in-house Creative Director, Sheharazad Fleming, is as passionate about her work as she is her city. We decided to catch up with Sheharazad to learn more about her trajectory as a designer thus far, the kinds of projects she’s most excited about, and the things she does when she’s not busy launching Otis’ new Design Lab, a place where students will be part of an on-campus, in-house design studio.

Tell us a bit about yourself.

Many artists claim that their work is multidisciplinary. But Eduardo Sarabia’s (BFA Fine Arts '99) varied practice includes painting, sculpture, mezcal making and even treasure hunting. “There’s a lot of fantasy and imagination involved in my work,” he says, seated in his studio on the first floor of a 1950s industrial building in the Zapopan district of Guadalajara, Mexico. He shows me the handcrafted, blue-and-white Talavera-style ceramic tiles he’s produced for an upcoming solo exhibition in Antwerp, Belgium.

Hazel Mandujano (BFA ’03, MFA ’10) has been appointed Director of Alumni Relations in the Office of Institutional Advancement at Otis College of Art and Design. Her connection to the Otis College community spans 20 years, having earned her undergraduate degree in Fine Arts and a graduate degree in Graphic Design at the College. She served as a senior lecturer for Communication Arts and Foundation, a lecturer for Creative Action, and an academic coordinator for Graduate Graphic Design and, most recently, Foundation.

It’s an uncharacteristically cool, rainy afternoon when I climb the steps to Judie Bamber’s home and studio in a neighborhood off Sunset. As I enter her studio—a surprisingly spare and self-contained space—a rectangle of golden light seems to float on an easel set up at the rear of the room, seemingly appropriated from some magic hour we’re bound not to see on that particular day. As I move further into the room, I see that it’s a work in progress—with portions of the painting covered around this rectangle, which now discloses an identifiable section of human anatomy.

Being the child of an immigrant makes the creative path a difficult one. A lot of sacrifices have been made, and, often times, families don't want to accept any career path outside of the Doctor/Lawyer safe zone. Chris has walked this path himself, so that gave him an instant connection with his guest, Handel Eugene, the son of Haitian immigrants. Handel has proven his talent to his parents, though, by creating a successful career for himself, most recently working on films like Spider-Man: Homecoming and Black Panther.

Mike Tavarez (BFA Digital Media '08) discusses his inspirations, favorite pieces of work and what he thinks will be the next big thing in design. Gentleman Scholar is a bicoastal U.S. creative production company drawn together by a love for design and an eagerness to push boundaries. The company is proud to present this series of interviews with some of its amazing, emerging talents, in conversation with its LA-based production and marketing maven, CJ Sustello.

In 2016, the Kerry James Marshall ('78 Fine Arts) retrospective, Mastry, traveled from the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago (MCA) to the Met Breuer. Standing behind the clear plexiglass podium, about to address the press, Kerry took a deep breath, looked down, noticed his descended zipper, corrected it, and then delivered his wonderfully disarming chuckle, effectively deepening the awe of the already starstruck audience.

“People of color have to live with the burden of past and present discriminations and injustices every day,” says artist Kohshin Finley. “The subjects I paint have only become stronger because of this burden, and have not become weakened by it.”

Finley’s contemporary portraiture was submitted to Artists Magazine’s Annual Art Competition. The raw power of his stark, emotional art paints a light on racial discrimination in the U.S.

From Conversations to Powerful Portraiture